Theater: Another splendid holiday send-up from Ryan Landry

Thursday

Dec 7, 2017 at 2:22 PMDec 7, 2017 at 2:25 PM

By Iris Fanger/For The Patriot Ledger

Ryan Landry and his intrepid troupe of Gold Dust Orphans return for a holiday outing with another irreverent send-up of the Christmas story that is guaranteed to offend – in all the best ways – the complacent and conservative among us.

This time, Landry, who pulls triple duty as playwright, sound designer and lead actor, has fashioned a revue titled, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jesus?” It comes complete with a serial axe murderer, recollections of movie legends like Joan Crawford and June Havoc, trees that spray maple sugar, and a cat’s cradle of confusing plot-lines. Sound bizarre? Well, rationality is the least of the good reasons to watch Landry and his compatriots cavort on stage.

Year by year, the Gold Dust outings get more elaborate, without losing the troupe’s trademark imaginative approach to staging and décor. “Whatever Happened to Baby Jesus?” opens with a large screen silent film noir that sets up the basic story: the Baby Jesus doll has disappeared from the crèche at the center of Mapleton, Vt., Also, the pastor’s wife is murdered.

Landry leads a cast of surreal characters. He’s Blanche Hudson, a retired film star relegated to a wheelchair. Cue the jokes that target the disabled. But, no worries, almost every politically-correct group will be run over by the end of the show, not to mention personalities making the daily headlines. Landry is a splendid equal-opportunity offender.

Blanche is the sister of the mad queen, Baby Jane Hudson (Larry Coen), dressed at first in drab colors, soon to change into the Baby June outfit taken from Havoc’s childhood costume in “Gypsy.” She has escaped from the asylum and returned to the sisters’ hometown of Mapleton to find a peaceful haven, hardly an appropriate description of the place. The creative duo of Landry as writer and Coen as director as well as actor is one of the glories of the local theatrical scene. The production is aided enormously by Scott Martino’s costumes and witty visual effects. The spread of the scenes over the multiple split-stages of the tiny space at Machine is another.

Coen plays Baby Jane as a character roiled by a deranged sweep of emotions, in contrast to a cool, dictatorial Landry as Blanche, especially hilarious in his asides to the audience and mugging in the role. The rest of the roles are filled by some of the most talented performers in the area , including the operatic-voiced Tim Lawton in an ever-changing variety of characters; Michael Underhill as Joe, the leader of the theatrical troupe that drops in to put on a show in the barn (don’t ask); Taryn Lane as Mary Marvel, his new love interest; Penny Champagne (the stage name for Martino who also acts) as the Joan Crawford take-off; Qya Cristal as the surprise guest at the end; and comedian Sarah Jones as the pragmatic farmhand and housekeeper, Marge. These and the other members of the ensemble have terrific voices, not to mention their pluck and fortitude in delivering Landry’s material.

The action and dialogue are studded by songs taken from the golden-oldie play list and set to Landry’s new lyrics. He goes Agatha Christie (“Murder on the Orient Express”) one better by making everyone on stage a suspect for the crimes. It takes a long rap number, filled with explanation and excuses (delightfully warbled by Cristal, wrapped in a stunning, sequined gown) to disclose the villain and bring on the finale.

“Whatever Happened to Baby Jesus” is definitely not for the children, nor for folks who have a hard time laughing at our personal foibles as individuals or as a society. However, the rest of us who follow Landry down whatever twisted paths he leads on, cannot keep from laughing out loud throughout the performance.